Innocent, Adorable Lin Xiaoqing; Xiao Hongchen Came at the News, Their Looks Too Close to Call (4K)

The physical examination room at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

The new students lined up and stepped onto the scanning examination device in turn. Three teachers verified their identities, maintained order in the room, and recorded each student's results.

A short, stout middle-aged man sat in the center of the teachers' seats, wearing scholarly black-framed glasses. His position and name were engraved on a metal nameplate.

Lin Jiayi, dean of students at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

Spinning between his fingers the pen that held the students' lives in its grasp, Lin Jiayi studied the budding boys and girls in the room like someone picking out mountain-raised pork with just the right balance of fat and lean at a market.

"Director Lin!"

At that lively call, Lin Jiayi caught sight of a beautiful girl with white hair and blue eyes. The stern, cold dean of students instantly softened.

"Little Meng, you're helping guide the new students too?"

"Mm-hmm!"

In her cheerful mood, Meng Hongchen was willing to bestow a radiant smile on every human being. She introduced the Green Garment Duo to Lin Jiayi with easy confidence:

"Lin Qing and Ye Guyi came all the way from the Douluo Continent to the Sun Moon Empire. They've set their hearts on the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. They have a foundation in soul engineering and would like to take the advancement assessment directly."

"Very well."

Lin Jiayi remained as composed as ever. New students bold enough to challenge the advancement assessment were uncommon, but a few popped up from time to time.

As always, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy opened its arms to every gifted monster and freak.

"Let me see your identification. You two can join the line for the scanner. I'll assign senior students to assess you based on your ages and soul power levels."

Lin Jiayi spoke with impartial severity. "For the imperial academy, admitting any One-Ring Soul Master would make the requirements far too lax.

"We admit a fixed number of 1,280 new students each year, but well over ten thousand apply. We must select the small handful of children with the greatest potential. You'll need to prove yourselves with genuine ability."

The pair nodded and handed over their Sun Moon Empire permanent residence permits, proving that they were proper, fully legal immigrants, then went to the end of the line to await their examinations.

The examination device was a tall cylinder roughly two and a half meters high, with a crystal column running vertically from top to bottom and a circular platform set on the ground in front.

Each new student's examination took less than a minute, and soon it was their turn.

Ladies first. Ye Guyi went ahead, copying the students before her as she stepped onto the circular platform. Since Meng Hongchen was their guide, Lin Jiayi did her the honor of recording the results personally.

Sensing the weight on the platform, the soul-powered examination device hummed to life. A fan-shaped light covering roughly one square meter lit up at the top of the crystal column and slowly descended over her. A mechanical female voice precisely announced Ye Guyi's physical data.

Student sex: female. Bone age: fifteen. Soul power fluctuations: Level 45.

Height: 1.72 meters. Weight: 48 kilograms. No soul bones attached. Physical strength: Level 57. Physical resilience: Level 61.

"Whoa-"

An uproar instantly swept through the examination room. The academy's new students wore expressions of shock enough to stun their mothers for a hundred years.

Ye Guyi was a little older, but her physical abilities, far exceeding her soul power level, stood in a league of their own. The Holy Angel's overpowered stats shocked the delicate, soft-bodied soul engineers into GG Bond reaction faces!

Meng Hongchen was startled too. She cultivated both disciplines, and thanks to her exceptional Vermilion-Sun Ice Toad martial soul, her strength was undoubtedly among the academy's best at her level. Yet she still fell short of Ye Guyi.

Looking at the blonde girl again, Miss Meng found herself increasingly curious. Was Ye Guyi born with extraordinary strength, or did she possess an exceptionally brutal martial soul?

"Top-tier talent. Douluo soul masters really are beyond reproach in this regard..."

Lin Jiayi's pen danced like a dragon or snake, swiftly jotting down the data as praise flowed from his mouth.

Unbothered by the earth-shattering shock she had caused, Ye Guyi lightly hopped off the platform and gave Lin Qing an encouraging look.

As the device slowly scanned downward, Lin Qing narrowed his eyes slightly, and a thread of soul power quietly circulated.

Student sex: male. Bone age: eleven. Soul power fluctuations: Level 42. Height: 1.75 meters. Weight: 66 kilograms. No soul bones attached. Physical strength...

Beep, beep, beep! Beep, beep, beep! Beep, beep, beep!

The soul-powered examination device suddenly let out a shrill, piercing alarm. An academy teacher beside it gaped. "Director Lin, the data's gone haywire. The examination device has malfunctioned..."

"How could that be? It was just serviced. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it!"

Lin Jiayi knitted his brows. New student admissions were the first priority at the start of term, and experienced teachers always handled the device's inspections.

"Director Lin, the disturbance might have something to do with my martial soul."

Lin Qing spoke clearly, drawing everyone's attention. His handsome face broke into a smile of innocent youth that made it all too easy to like him:

"My martial soul is a mutated gold element called the machine element. It has a natural affinity for rare metals and can easily alter their fundamental nature.

"When the device started just now, my martial soul reacted on its own. I'm very sorry for interfering with the equipment. It should settle down in a few minutes and return to normal."

"A Level 42 Soul Ancestor threw a Class 6 soul-powered examination device into disarray in an instant, right under the noses of three Class 8 and Class 7 Soul Engineers. The quality of this machine element..."

As though realizing something, Lin Jiayi abruptly sucked in a breath. Even the academy's greatest genius, known as the master of metals, could not accomplish such an outrageous feat!

Lin Qing looked bewildered. "Director Lin, I've never attended a soul master academy, so I don't really understand things like martial soul quality.

"But I once made a soul tool that disguised my martial soul's aura as a heavenly treasure. Whenever I activated it while hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, it always summoned a whole bunch of metal-attribute soul beasts for me to choose from.

"During battle, the machine element can suppress their metal attribute with ease. Even ten-thousand-year soul beasts aren't a match for me.

"Strangely, once my soul power passed Level 30, my cultivation suddenly slowed dramatically. Otherwise, at my previous rate of devouring rare metals alongside meditation, I should be approaching Five-Ring Soul King by now."

"Cultivation slows at the three-ring Soul Elder stage..."

Lin Jiayi shot to his feet, as excited and agitated as though he had been struck by a Pink Lady's neurotoxin. He nearly collided with the academy director's precious granddaughter, but he had no attention to spare for Meng Hongchen now. His lips trembled:

"The machine element is an ultimate martial soul... ultimate metal?!"

"I don't know. I've never been to school, and there aren't any especially powerful soul masters in my family to guide me."

An entirely wild-grown ultimate metal, at that! Lin Jiayi clenched his fists hard!

Dean Hongchen, perseverance pays off!

We've rolled a shiny! Absolutely flawless talent!

Meng Hongchen's lips formed a round O, as though someone had stuffed half a Soft Bone Rabbit into her mouth. She was indeed obsessed with good looks, but until now, her feelings had mostly been admiration. A soul master's preference for strength in a partner meant she was bound to favor the powerful.

But supreme good looks plus an ultimate martial soul...

Miss Meng felt as though a Careless Missile had hit her head-on, blasting her into a dizzy stupor.

Thank you, Heaven, for this gift. Your faithful daughter will surely cherish this blessed match!

Feeling as though she were surrounded by Gale Demon Wolves that had starved for two and a half years and now had green fire in their eyes, Ye Guyi edged a few steps away, sweating bullets. She also gained a whole new understanding of Lin Qing.

Given the intimate bond they had built over this time, the Holy Angel naturally didn't buy this innocent, adorable Lin Xiaoqing act. It only proved that the boy was a consummate actor...

He had revealed his ultimate metal, then sneakily slipped in a remark about devouring rare metals to accelerate his soul power cultivation. He might as well have reached straight into the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's pockets!

"Oh dear... hahaha... how embarrassing..."

Director Lin appeared before Lin Qing in a flash, his eyes shining as though he were looking at a priceless treasure.

An ultimate martial soul was a matter of enormous significance. Although he couldn't simply take a student's word for everything, Lin Jiayi already believed him seventy percent. They only needed further testing to erase the last trace of doubt!

"Lin Qing, Guyi, I'll take you to the advancement assessment."

Leaving the new students' examinations to the other teachers, the dean of students personally led the Green Garment Duo onward. His fiery enthusiasm was unlike anything Meng Hongchen had ever seen from him:

"The advancement assessment has two stages. First, you must make a soul tool within four hours. Then you'll use that soul tool in a sparring match against a senior student at the same cultivation level.

"The academy permits you to forgo making a soul tool and encourages combat using your martial soul. The teachers will grade your performance to determine whether you qualify to skip grades.

"If you win outright, the academy will admit you unconditionally. Defeating a soul engineer whom the academy has carefully trained for years already proves your worth."

In truth, Lin Jiayi had already decided to admit the Green Garment Duo. No matter how they performed, they would become members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

Director Lin had them continue with the assessment for two reasons: first, to go through the formalities and uphold the academy's admission rules; second, to watch them fight and get a sense of their abilities.

The pair would undoubtedly receive preferential resources and intensive training from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. But they were, after all, from the Douluo Three Kingdoms. If those kingdoms abandoned fair play and borrowed the academy's hens to lay their own eggs, the academy's whole pot would explode. It might even lose both the lady and the troops.

The new student assessment was held in the academy's testing area, a vast metal field divided into two halves.

Metal tables stood on the left, their silvery-white surfaces reflecting the golden sunlight from above. Numerous new students were hard at work making soul tools.

On the right was the combat area, where students fought in pairs with their freshly made soul tools. Ordinary new student admissions involved matches against one another, with teachers grading them fairly.

Lin Qing and Ye Guyi entered, each choosing a metal table to build a soul tool.

It was a standard soul engineering workbench, its surface polished from refined steel, resistant to heat and corrosion. A simple Soul-Gathering Soul Guidance Array was engraved on it to help soul engineers stabilize their soul power.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy provided the raw materials. A hundred varieties of rare metal were piled on the table like soldiers standing tall for inspection. Lin Qing went straight in for a thunderous, epic lungful.

"Whew..."

A little intoxicated.

The scent of metal was unbelievably intoxicating, sweeter even than Miss Angel's fragrance. Lin Qing touched the rare metals one by one, feeling as though he had stumbled from hell into heaven, overwhelmed by happiness.

I've wandered into Heaven's own household!

The Sun Moon Empire's reputation as a filthy-rich moneybags hasn't deceived me! Half the rare metals on the table were things he had only heard of, never seen, in the Star Luo Empire. Yet the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was extravagant enough to use them for testing new students!

At that moment, Lin Qing's martial souls were no longer the machine element and the Nether Emperor Sword. His two martial souls had fused within him into a peacock!

A real man always repaid a grudge. To obtain the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's generous metal resources, Lin Qing resolutely transformed into a peacock spreading its magnificent, rainbow-colored tail.

Ultimate metal and soul engineering talent-those two were his tickets in!

Radiant fine gold, a metal unique to the Sun Moon Empire, was tough and conducted soul power exceptionally well, making it an excellent choice for soul tool casings.

Lin Qing picked up a piece and weighed it in his hand. The platinum-colored metal gleamed with a cold light. He reached into his Storage Soul Tool with his right hand and withdrew a long, slender carving knife.

A carving knife was an indispensable tool for soul engineers, used to engrave soul tools. Grandma Lin had given this one to Lin Qing as a gift when he became a Level 1 Soul Engineer. The entire knife was forged from nether silver, its sharp edge glinting coldly.

Scritch, scritch...

Metal shavings fluttered down as the carving knife advanced, spreading a thin veil of platinum.

His speed was astonishing, his movements steady.

Every stroke carried exactly the right force. His hand controlled the knife with unwavering precision as its edge traveled over the metal, cutting straight, scraping sideways, chiseling deep, and carving shallow. The marks intertwined into an intricate pattern.

His technique flowed like drifting clouds and running water, drawing the watching Meng Hongchen and Lin Jiayi into its rhythm.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's Mimicry Training Grounds, the Metal World.

A white-haired boy cultivated cross-legged, drawing the Metal World's vast metallic energy into his body.

That energy had been refined from rare metals. Only the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy could afford such extravagance, and only this white-haired boy could devour the metallic energy to its fullest extent and convert it into his own soul power.

"B-b-b... big trouble, Brother Xiao!"

A core member of Ai Xiao rushed into the Mimicry Training Grounds like a whirlwind.

"What kind of behavior is all that shouting? Untangle your tongue before speaking."

Xiao Hongchen opened his naturally mismatched eyes, azure and emerald existing side by side. His presence radiated an arrogance that placed him above the common masses.

"Brother Xiao, someone has stolen Sister Meng away!" the core Ai Xiao member exclaimed anxiously.

"She found a boy she likes?"

As her blood-related twin, Xiao Hongchen understood his lovestruck little sister very well.

At those words, the core Ai Xiao member nodded furiously.

"Every day, Meng complains that there aren't any good-looking boys at the academy. Even her brother, the campus heartthrob, doesn't meet her standards. What does this fellow look like? Have you seen him?"

"He seems to be a new student. He's taking the admission assessment in the testing area. I saw him from a distance..."

The core Ai Xiao member paused for an almost imperceptible two-tenths of a second, then said with a hint of guilt, "His looks are too close to yours to call, Brother Xiao!"

"Oh?"

Xiao Hongchen rose gracefully and clasped his hands behind his back. "In that case, I'd like to see what makes him worthy of being Meng's exception."

With that, Xiao Hongchen left the Mimicry Training Grounds and headed straight for the testing area.

The grass rippled gently as a warm breeze passed through the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Girls carrying books walked beneath the shade of the trees, short skirts fluttering above a forest of long legs.

Spotting Xiao Hongchen from afar, most immediately blushed and ran away. The slightly bolder girls approached to greet him.

"Good afternoon, big brother! I'm with Ai Xiao!"

"You're so handsome, big brother! Ai Xiao loves you so much!"

Young Master Xiao always returned his fans' greetings with an approachable smile-until he entered the testing area and saw that divinely sculpted, indisputably superior face for himself.

Turning to glance at his follower, whose eyes were wandering evasively, Xiao Hongchen wore an immensely complicated expression. He wanted to curse, but held back.

I'm confident, not a damn idiot!

You call this too close to call?

We both have two eyes and one nose-is it the number you're saying is too close to call?!